the Delian Tomb

 

 

What Do I Need?

If this is your first foray into what is referred to as the world’s greatest role-playing game, you may be asking, “Ok, so I have some friends that want to play, what else do I need?” Well not much really: A copy of the rules (link below), at least 1 set of polyhedral dice (shown below) which you can get at your Friendly Local Game Store (or Amazon if you prefer), pencils and paper or a blank character record sheet (or pre-made character) for each player.

The following links will give you and your future players enough information about the game that you can reasonably play through this adventure without much effort.
Basic Rules - PDF
Basic Rules (SRD) - D&D Beyond
Character Record Sheets
Printable & VTT Maps

Using this Adventure

This adventure assumes that you have at least read through the Introduction of the Basic Rules and your players have created characters for themselves using the guide in the Basic Rules (Step-by-Step Character Creation) or with the Online Character creator on D&D Beyond.

Alternatively, if your players are unable to make their own character, you simply want to get the game going quickly, you can provide them with a Pre-generated Character of their choice.

Boxed Text

Throughout this adventure module you may see various special boxed text. There are 2 different variations: Read-Aloud text, and Running-the-Game

Adventure Overview

Set in the out-of-the-way village of Vallane, the PCs find respite and a warm meal as they make their way through to the main city to make a name for themselves as adventurers and heroes.

Recently, there has been an influx of goblins in the region and some of the foul creatures have even begun attacking the farms in the outskirts of the village.

It isn’t long before they find themselves mixed up in the pursuit of Goblinse daughter of the Blacksmith into the depths of a long forgotten tomb. This is their opportunity to prove themselves, and to rescue someone in need, if they can survive the perils of the Delian Tomb!

 

 

The Green Dragon Inn

When the Player Characters arrive in Villane, the villagers recognize them as adventurers — Ratcatchers — the sort of people who will fight just about anything for a bit of coin. Just the sort of people Villane is in need of.

At this point, all the Players have their Character Sheets, and you’re ready to start playing.

Now would be a great time for you to ask the Players to describe their Characters. It’s good for everyone to get an idea of who they are and who their party is made up of, it will help you all get a bit more immersed in the story.

Once everyone has shared their Player Character (PC), you can get the ball rolling again by introducing the first Non-Player Character (NPC): Matt, the Serving Boy.

This is your opportunity to help the players get immersed in the world, feel free to embellish Matt with personality! Take a moment to describe what he looks like, how he moves, what he’s doing as he approaches.

While Matt is off fixing whatever the PCs have ordered, and the characters have had a chance to get to know each other and the NPCs, something has to happen…

Goblins have kidnapped the Blacksmith’s daughter! That’s right, time to bring in the second key NPC: Lars, The Blacksmith.

The villagers all know Lars, he’s well-loved, but none of them are equipped to face the challenge of hunting down goblins.

Lars will recognize a band of adventurers as quickly as anyone, and he won’t hesitate to approach the PCs to ask for their help. Pleading on their sense of the preservation of life and doing the right thing.

Once Lars has convinced the adventurers to help, you can continue.

Goblin Tracks

The Smithy

Lars doesn’t know where the goblins took his daughter, but he’s confident that a competent adventurer can find tracks in the area around his house.

While Lars can offer this information to the players if they seem to be feeling stuck, you should give them the chance to propose searching the crime scene on their own.

You can simply narrate the journey from the Green Dragon Inn to Lars’ Smithy, describing the dirt road and the trees that dot the path.

Once you arrive at the Smithy, use your classic DM move and ask the players, “What do you do?”.

 

 

If your players seem stumped, you can even have Lars nudge them and ask, “do you see any clues? Like tracks?”.

Here is your first opportunity to ask a player searching for clues to make an Ability Check.

The tracks are plentiful, and easy to spot, a character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check recognizes that at least two goblins dragged something North, into the forest known to the locals as “The Boar Wood”.

The Boar Wood

The Boar Wood is a large expanse of forest. The locals hunt boar here frequently, and - until recently - has been free of goblins. If the goblins went this way, they must have a hideout somewhere beyond the Boar Wood.

The journey to the other side of the forest is going to take a bit longer than what they can cover in a single day, the adventurers will be required to make camp and wait out the night.

This is a great opportunity to remind the players that the wilderness is a dangerous place, your goal here is to cause the players to make camp in the middle of the forest and feel wary, wondering if something is going to attack them in the middle of the night!

Ask the players to decide who will take first watch, and ask that player to roll a d12. On a 1 to 11 nothing happens, however on a 12 a wild non-hostile boar comes to inspect the campsite and the strange new creatures within it. While you could choose to throw something hostile at the players, the goal here is to get them to the tomb as quickly as possible, but rolling dice is fun and it tells the players that something could happen. So, except for the curious boar, the evening passes uneventfully.

As the players emerge from the Boar Wood, they spot the movement of a goblin patrol. It’s time to ask them once again, “What do you do?”.

Out of the Woods

The adventurers have tracked the goblins through the forest and discovered their hideout. The hideout appears to be an ancient ruin, an old structure infested by the goblins recently.

Goblin Patrol

Any players who decide to monitor the hilltop before approaching will spot 2 Goblins patrolling the area.

 

 

This is a good time to check if the Player Characters are sneaking as they make their approach.

Feel free to ask your players a leading question like, “Are you trying to avoid being seen?”, to which they will almost always say, “Yes!”. Reminding the players to be cautious this way will help reinforce the verisimilitude of the game world.

If any of the adventurers are spotted, the goblins will ready their bows and will not be surprised when the combat begins.

After the first round, every time a goblin takes a turn, check to see if they have taken any damage. If they have taken damage, or their buddy was slain, the

goblin will retreat to warn its brethren inside the tomb.

Until the goblin is either dead, or inside, they will spend their movement retreating and their action firing arrows back at the adventurers.

If the goblin patrol survives long enough, you might have him shout a warning to the goblins guarding the entrance of the tomb. If this happens, the Player Characters are in range to see that the guards leave their posts to retreat into the tomb. The guards have gone to alert the others of the danger coming their way.

The Delian Tomb

Long ago, a knight by the name of Lord Delius founded the Delian Order, a sect of knights that devoted their lives to the fight against Maglubiyet - the chief deity of goblin-kind. This is their long forgotten resting place.

Today, the goblins who have infested the tomb are preparing to desecrate the site with a human sacrifice. It is their intent to consecrate the tomb in the name of their cruel god, Maglubiyet.

1. Entrance

Unless a member of the patrol has warned them, 2 Goblins stand guard before the sundered stone doors of the tomb. The red circles on the DM Map below indicate possible positions of the goblins.

As the PCs approach the guards, it would be a good idea to ask them once again if they are attempting to be sneaky. If they are, ask them to roll a Dexterity (Stealth) ability check against the goblin guards’ Passive Perception.

DM MAP

 

 

It’s also possible for the Player Characters to simply use the geometry of the ruins to sneak up on the unwitting guards, easily gaining a Surprise Round when they initiate the combat.

On the goblins’ first turn of combat, they will both attempt to retreat inside. The presence of the adventurers tells them that the patrol was killed, and they aren’t going to stand around waiting that same fate!

2. Offering Room

After the adventurers have dispatched the goblin guards, they descend into the tomb itself. Remember to describe the tomb using as many senses as seem reasonable to you.

The goblins have begun their ritual, the distant chatter is the chanting of a goblin shaman.

At the bottom of the stairs, a dim light illuminates a large room littered with moldy bedrolls and inhabited by more goblins.

The number of goblins in this room should be equal to 1 + the number of PCs. Additionally, if the PCs managed to sneak past the goblin patrol without ever alerting them, they are included in the total number of goblins and will join the fight after the first round of combat.

If the players have managed to deal with both the patrol and the guards, without allowing them to retreat into the tomb to warn the others — the players have the opportunity to catch these goblins by surprise.

If, on the other hand, both sides are aware of the other, be prepared for the players to try some out of the box thinking. They may not want to venture into a den of goblins, they may instead try to flush them out. Be prepared for anything. Let the players experiment. In fact, encourage it!

Once the goblins are dealt with, take a moment to describe the room.

The next room lies beyond a corridor that fades into darkness beyond the light of the brazier. Halfway down the corridor, just before the turn, and after a short descent of steps, there lies a pressure plate trap.

3. Pressure Plate Trap

A character who succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check will notice the trap, the faint light of the brazier just barely catching the raised bit of floor. If a character then succeeds on a DC 10 Dexterity check using thieves’ tools, they can disable the trap without triggering it. This can also be attempted with any bladed weapon, but the check is made at disadvantage.

PLAYER MAP

 

 

Alternatively, PCs with Strength scores of 12 or higher, or succeed on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check, can jump over the pressure plate. Any Small sized PCs (Halfings, Gnomes, Goblins, etc.) will not trigger the trap.

Any other creature who steps on the pressure plate will trigger the trap, causing a scythe to sweep down from the ceiling. A character that triggers the trap must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or suffer 4 (1d8) slashing damage.

Once the trap has been disabled, or triggered an amount of times equal to 1 less than the number of players it malfunctions and will not trigger again.

4. Hall of the Oathkeeper

What was once the sacred chamber consecrated by the Delian Order on behalf of Lord Delius has been desecrated by the goblins.

Along with Breeyak, the goblin shaman (who is sitting at the circled X) the leader of this band of goblin raiders resides here, a bugbear named Grush.

This is the first time the players have encountered a clever enemy, the bugbear Grush is not driven by fear like his goblin toadies. Grush will fight tactically, and if alerted will attempt to hide in the shadows beside the Hall’s entrance.

Once the monsters have been slain, and Bess has been helped out from the cage, the players will likely wish to search the room. The makeshift altar is covered with bits of charcoal, incense, sulfur, and other spellcasting materials. Amidst these is a potion of healing as well as jewelry and gemstones worth 2d12 + 10 gp in total.

If any character speaks the Delian Oath from the Offering Room states “I give my word” or anything in the spirit of that, the secret door leading to the tomb will open.

Near the cage where Bess was being held, there is a large nest of blankets where the bugbear slept. Within the nest is a sack of copper, silver and gold pieces, toalling 4d8 gp in assorted coins.

5. Tomb of the Delian Order

The true resting place of the Delian Order, hidden away behind the Hall of the Oathkeeper. Inside, there are six sarcophagi bearing the resemblances of their knights they hold. As well as a much larger, more elaborately carved sarcophagus at the center, bearing the form of Lord Delius.

Each of the sarcophagi have the names of their occupants etched at their feet. There is a journal, mostly rotted away, laying atop Delius’ sarcophagus. It is written in Common, and what can be read explains the origin of the Delian Order and their purpose (noted at the beginning of this section).

There are also a number of potions of healing scattered about the tomb, left as offerings to the Order long ago.

If any character attempts to open a sarcophagi, they will disturb the spirits of the Delian Order. The entombed Knights of the Delian Order rise as skeletons from the sarcophagi, eager to expel the desecrators from their tomb.

In the event that the character who attempts to open a sarcophagi speaks the Delian Oath, the knights do not rise, for the character is considered a member of the Delian Order, and the treasures are rightly theirs.

Each sarcophagi holds chainmail, as well as a longsword, and a shield bearing the Coat of Arms of the Delian Order. In Lord Delius’ sarcophagus, is an elaborate magical longsword - Oath Sworn.

 

 

Ending the Adventure

With the goblins dispatched, Bess rescued and the tomb guardians either turned to piles of bone or appeased with the promise of one of their own, the adventure is complete. All that is left is to have the players collect the treasures they may have missed, and return to Vallaine.

Consider describing the trek back as more of a cut-scene, with the PCs returning as triumphant heroes and not the Ratcatchers the villagers saw them as before.

Further Adventures

If a character decides to keep and use the armor and shield obtained from the Delian Knights, they may encounter a scholar, sage - or worse another goblinoid shaman - that recognizes the emblems and iconography etched into the metal.

This could open up another adventure based on the recreation of the order, connecting with other members of the knights in other kingdoms, or, in the case of the goblinoids, cause a sect of goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears to hunt down these would-be knights.

Magical Items

The magical items appearing in the adventure are listed here.

Potion of Healing

Potion, common
When you drink this potion, you regain 2d4 + 2 hit points.

Oath Sworn

Weapon, rare
This is the weapon of Lord Delius, and has the Delian Oath engraved into the length of its blade.

You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this longsword. Additionally, when used against goblinoids (bugbears, hobgoblins and goblins) attacks deal an extra 1d6 radiant damage on a hit.

Treasure

The statistics for any mundane equipment the PCs find, either scavenged weapons from the goblins, or the arms and armor of the Delian Knights, can be found in the Equipment section of the Player’s Handbook. Any item the PCs take can be brought back to town and sold or traded for goods and services. Use the prices set within the Player’s Handbook when selling these, or the ones suggested below.

Goblin Equipment

The gear and supplies that the goblins use is in massive disrepair. The blades are dented and marred with scratches, and spots of rust. The armor they use is little more than scavenged scraps of leather and hide from other adventurers they have encountered or animals they have hunted. The gear is sold at half market value or less.

• Bugbear’s Hide armor (3 gp)
• Bugbear’s Morningstar (7 gp)
• Goblin’s Leather Armor (5 gp
• Goblin’s Scimitar (12 gp)
• Goblin’s Short bow (12 gp)
• Goblin’s Shield (2 gp)
• Shaman’s Dagger (5 sp)

Arms & Armor of the Delian Knights

The items found within the sarcophagi though dusty and aged were relatively protected from the elements and are in good repair. The flourishes and decoration that were added to the equipment, as well as the quality of them allows for fair market value if sold.

• Chain mail armor (75 gp)
• Longsword (15 gp)
• Shield (10 gp)

 

 

Monster Stat Blocks

We suggest reading over the Monster Statistics section in the Basic rules to help understand the following stat blocks.

 

 

DM MAP

PLAYER MAP